


the greatest distance

by hydrospanners



Series: renegade [27]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Angst, Drabble, Gen, Mentions of Female Jedi Knight | Hero of Tython x Archiban "Doc" Kimble, Set During KotFE
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2019-04-18 08:21:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14209065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hydrospanners/pseuds/hydrospanners
Summary: She always knew the galaxy would keep on going without her, but knowing and seeing are two different things. Jedi Knight Nirea Velaran grapples with what five years in carbonite cost her.





	the greatest distance

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr (titled "jubilant"). Written for Fictober 2016.

_the greatest distance between two points is always time_

 

She finds Teeseven where she expects to, alone in the engine compartment, the hyperdrive in shambles around him. Rea’s breath catches at the sight of it, and for the space of a heartbeat everything is just as it used to be. As if there was never any expedition with Marr, never any confrontation with the Eternal Fleet. It’s as if Valkorion never existed, as if five years never passed without her.

The lights flicker and the moment passes. Teeseven lets out a low, mournful whistle.

“I know, buddy,” Rea pats the top of his chassis. “Me too.”

Five years and a meter of carbonite between them, and her heart still beats in time to the Renegade’s engines. This ship is a second skin; she feels the hollowness of it like she would feel the absence of her own bones.

Teeseven wobbles beside her, nudging her thigh in encouragement. “Jedi = Don’t worry,” he whirrs and beeps, “T7 + Jedi = Fix Renegade.”

Rea runs her hand along the dusty railing and it wobbles under her touch. She wonders at that, at how quickly decay can set in. Is five years really such a long time?

When she closes her eyes, Rea can still hear the echo of her brother’s voice bouncing off the plated walls. She can hear Kira’s laughter and the click-clack of Rusk’s gear. She can feel the familiar storm of Scourge’s frustration, can smell the too-sweet stench of Archiban’s caf. She can hear the whisper of a voice in her ear, calling her gorgeous.

When she closes her eyes, she’s home again.

“I think,” Rea finally says, “we could rebuild this ship from the ground up, and still not fix what’s wrong.”

Five years is too much time.


End file.
